monday, 31 december

4.00am local time
Nairobi, Kenya

PLEASE PRAY ROD AND MY FAMILY HOME!!!!!!!

It is after 4.00am here, I have been awake since about 3.00am, woke up to got to the bathroom -- surprise surprise in this stage of the pregnancy! :-)

The plan is for Rod and the gang to leave Naro Moru at 4.30am. They will travel in the dark for the first two hours, and then into dawn as they come into the city. There have been many people here in agreement that he is doing the right thing.

Please pray that the Lord would protect them as they drive (Rod, Cristiana [almost 5], Keith, Jen, Clay [10], Sierra [8], and Anna [3.5]). That the Lord would keep His guardian and warrior angels around them. That He would keep Rod and Keith completely aware and attentive to the surroundings and EVEN THE SMALLEST indication of any trouble, if they need to turn around or take a different route. That He would open the streets to them, and keep people away.

PRAY FOR HIS WILL!!!!

Thankfully, most of the area where they are travelling is very strong Kibaki supported territory. That means that the people are not out rioting. However, we are close to a state of emergency (the President said so last evening).

I really am not coming up with the words that I want to say.

Please also pray that Sally and I are safe here on our compound as I lay awake waiting for them to come home. Beyond all I want them to be safe, and not have “get-there-itis” and not be safe. I do have a single friend staying here with me tonight. We both needed it and it has been good to have another body in the house. The dogs have been quiet as well, so that is nice.

Please pray for peace, and even rest if that is possible for me right now.

It was good to hear both Cristiana and Rod’s voices last night. Cristiana told me they were going back to the cabin after dinner and then told me good night before I hung up.

The night has been quiet. Please pray that all stays that way into the morning. Raila Odinga is planning a separate ceremony in the afternoon (2.00pm) at Uhuru Park for his “inauguration/swearing in” as the “People’s President”. You may read into that whatever you wish, no one knows what will happen -- except the Lord.

WHO, just to remind me as I am writing this, IS BIGGER THAN ALL OF THIS!!!!!!

I am not sure what all has been on the news lately about Kenya, especially in light of the Bhutto assassination in Pakistan, but please be watching what you can and where you can. The media here has been banned from live broadcasts, so there may be little to find on the actual news. However, I have been able to find things on line.

Please also pray for those who we know who live in the slums. I tried getting in touch with Elly and Mama Jimmy last night and was unable, the networks were very busy. Please pray for their safety. And, for everyone else who is in the middle of the clashes and can do nothing about it, BUT PRAY!!!

I know there is more that I want to write, just not sure what it was! Please write back and let me know that you are receiving this and that you are praying. I have only heard from a few of you. when I do it gives me peace. Thanks!

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5.00am local time
Nairobi, Kenya

When I am afraid, I will trust in You
In God, whose word I praise,
In God I trust, I will not be afraid,
What can mortal man do to me?
-- Psalm 56:3-4

If I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there Your hand will hold me fast.
-- Psalm 139:9

You hem me in -- behind and before --
You have laid your hand upon me.
-- Psalm 139:5

For in the day of trouble
He will keep me safe in His dwelling;
He will hide me in the shelter
of His tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
-- Psalm 27:5

All of these verses are ones that both come to mind and have been sent to us. Thank you for them. Thank you for praying!

I just talked with Rod, they are already about an hour out from where they left. They had already started driving close to 4.00am. It was good to hear him and Keith laughing about something! If they are able to drive straight through, they should arrive here somewhere around 7.30am or so. I will let you all know when they arrive! KEEP PRAYING!!!!!

Thank you Jesus, that there are so many people praying for us right now. In Jesus Name, AMEN!

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7.00am local time
Nairobi, Kenya

Thank you for praying my family home! They just arrived a few minutes ago . . . all worn out looking in the same dirty clothes from three days ago. But, incredibly beautiful to me! :-) Thank you soooooo much for your prayers. Please don’t stop now. We have an interesting day ahead of us.

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4.00pm local time
Nairobi, Kenya

Again, the whole family is back, and we are rejoicing for their safety!

So far we have just been sitting in the house today. Occasionally we hear sporadic gunfire, as there are some reports of thousands of people demonstrating within three blocks of us on two sides. Fortunately, what we are hearing is in all likelihood crowd control. Unfortunately, the Kenyan version of crowd control usually ends up with casualties.

We have received reports from national friends from other parts of the country that are finding themselves in the middle of battles between protesters and law enforcement.

The media has been shut down, so there is no news on the tv stations, and not much on the internet as well. Most of what we are hearing is stuff from just right here, within our own community.

Please continue to pray for not only our safety but also for our Christian national colleagues throughout the country.

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7.00pm local time
Nairobi, Kenya

Just a quick note to let you all know that things have been VERY quiet here this evening. We even let the kids get out of the house and run around on the compound -- just right close to the house. There are some of the usual sounds out there -- horns honking, dogs barking, kids playing. Just not really sure if it is the quiet before the storm, or if things could escalate again. We are taking no chances and staying home tonight.

We will bring the New Year in with some friends here on the compound. I will probably be here at the house with Cristiana as she sleeps. I need to rest too. With only having 3.5 hours of sleep last night, and then one hour before lunch, I am beat! It will be interesting to see who all stays awake how long out of our gang.

Thank you for your continued prayers. We are still in basic lock-down mode for now. There is a scheduled “million man march” for Thursday for Raila Odinga’s party (the one who says he should have won). That could really make some things go south again. And, who knows what might happen tonight with the New Year celebrations. It will be interesting to see if there is much partying or just laying low in the slums as well.

So far, that is really where most of the clashes are. That does not necessarily make it easy on us, though, as we have people that we know and love who live there and are losing property and are very fearful. One of the biggest issues now has become food and water -- lack thereof. Please pray for the people as many of them are simply stuck where they are. I have been in daily contact with our gardener and house help, and a few others, and so far all are well. Our gardener’s family back home (in Kakamega, Western Province) has had some problems, being roughed up and a brother lost his shop [read that as his livelihood!] in a fire. Pray for them all! It is hard to know that there is nothing that we can do for them . . . except pray. And, they do know that we are praying!

Thanks for all of the responses to our emails. It is very encouraging to know that you are there! :-) Keep ’em comin’!

sunday, 30 december

8.00am local time
Nairobi, Kenya

Well, last night was fine. Seems like the City was very quiet. Power is still on, cell phone service still on, etc etc. Rod and the gang slept well, I slept well. Now, to sit and wait another day to see how things are. Please keep praying that this country will settle down and get a hold of itself. On the news last night, everyone was asking for calm and saying how this nation can be one of calm and peace, that the people do NOT have to resort to violence. That this nation can show the rest of Africa and the rest of the world that things can go right. Please pray for that.

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3.00pm local time
Nairobi, Kenya

The elections have been kind of crazy here in Kenya. Been holed up for the last few days. We honestly thought things were okay on Saturday, which is why Rod and the gang all went up to Trout Tree for lunch. Naro Moru River Lodge is not such a bad place to stay, though. They will stay again tonight. They did NOT go prepared for any overnights, so are wearing the same clothes (and undies!!) over and over. Ugh! I am glad that I am here, but wish they were as well.

If we would have known that the results would have taken all day -- or longer, as they still have not been released -- Rod and the gang would have been home by now.

They plan to leave up there at 5.00am tomorrow. That way, if there is violence this afternoon or tomorrow, then most of the people will be sleeping or just getting up as they arrive into the city. They will also have a plan to stop at the Baptist Mission compound north on Thika Road if things get bad. That way, they are safe, but also closer.

We are still awaiting the results of the Presidential race today (1.30pm Sunday). It has been crazy, just waiting, waiting, waiting. I have talked with both our gardener and house help and they say that there is a lot of fear in the slums. They don’t have food or water (they don’t have the money to keep that kind of food or water on hand) and the shops are all closed -- half have been looted anyway so there is nothing left. That could prove to be a whole other issue to riot about.

Things do look bad on the news, and yes it is that way. It has mostly been in the slums here in the city, but in Western it has been in the main towns -- Kisumu, Kakamega, etc. There was a lot of rioting up and down Ngong Road yesterday. Some of the main shopping centers were closed also after the rioting.

Please just pray for safety for Rod and the gang as they try to get home in the morning. I will be much better when they are here. But, am also glad that they are in an area that in hugely Kikuyu, so very little rioting potential -- no need for it (as the President is Kikuyu and they are all happy with the results). :-) And, that they can be out and about seeing more of the country. Rod told a friend yesterday that he is most worried about me, but he knows that I am in good hands, just not his! And, of course, he would rather me be in his hands and not anyone else’s. :-)

Just now there are reports of more violence happening in the slum areas -- almost 3.00pm.

Thanks for your continued prayers! Happy New Year!

(P.S. Please do not try calling Rod. We are trying to preserve his battery on his cell phone and have just been text messaging back and forth in order to help with that. He will need as much battery as he has to make sure for communication on his way down tomorrow. He does have a SAT phone and a GPS, though, just in case they need to navigate somewhere else.)

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7.00pm local time
Nairobi, Kenya

Okay, not to be alarmist or anything, but the City is falling apart. President Kibaki was declared the winner about an hour ago (6.00pm) and has already been sworn in. There is widespread violence and rioting in the slums and over 12 people in different areas have been killed in the last hour. Let me reiterate . . . most of the violence is in the slums.

Rod and the rest of the gang are safely in a very strongly supported Kibaki area. The city, however, is completely divided . . . and that is why the violence here.

Please pray for safety for us all in the midst of all of this. We do not know what the night will hold, or what the next few days will hold.

Please pray that Sally is fine, and that she does not start giving me pains. I am okay, I have a good support system right here around me. I have you all praying for all of us!

Please also do NOT try to call, as I would like to keep the phone line open for communication with Rod.

I do have a friend here staying with me tonight, she is a single girl, so we’ll help take care of each other! :-)

Not really sure what else I should write, just know that right now things are a little hairy . . . but we also have a God who is STILL and always WILL be bigger than any and all of this!

saturday, 29 december

5.00pm local time
Nairobi, Kenya

Just a quick update from a country at a bit of unrest at the moment. First of all, we are all well and safe. Baby Sally has been very good and relaxing today, which is a huge PRAISE!

The Kenyan elections were on Thursday (27th), and they ARE STILL COUNTING!!! :-) The people are angry that they are still counting and the country is reacting to it -- not so favorably, either. Things started to fall apart today, but there is a bit of calm this evening. There have been many pockets of violence, out in the Western Province (look for Kisumu, Kakamega, Eldoret on the map) and some here in the City in the slums (most notably Kibera and Mathare). Some of the clashes have turned ethnic, but most is just out of anger of not getting the results.

Please just keep us in your prayers as we all -- missionaries, ex-pats, many people of Kenya -- are laying low, staying home, and simply trying to avoid all of the problems.

Things have been so peaceful the last few days, that Rod, Cristiana, Jen [Rod’s sister] and her family all went up north for a day trip to one of our favorite restaurants (Trout Tree, for those of you who know) and then a jaunt to the Equator a few kilometers further north. All of that is a three-hour drive away. When they were finished with lunch, the decision was made for them all to stay at one of our favorite places up there (Naro Moru River Lodge, NMRL). They will stay overnight, and reassess things in the morning if it is safe to come back into the City. The main problem is that most every road into the City is surrounded by the slums, or is too close to an area where there could potentially be problems.

I am here at the house, with our Rottweiler Osa:-), and on the compound with others. There is no fear in that, or of the rest of them being up north. I think we will all sleep well, and be fine! I have had so much more peace since the decision was made for them to stay north, than to try to come home through something that could be bad.

I am very thankful for the Lord’s peace that He has given me today! (By the way, I did not join them since I have been on partial bed rest, otherwise we would ALL be up there.) Rod did say that having a vacation up at NMRL is different than “needing” to stay there. Please pray that they all sleep well. They did not pack ANYTHING to take for an overnight! We’ll see how well the kids do, C without a nightlight, and all of them without warm pjs. There are plenty of blankets, and of course each other, to keep warm. It will be an adventure to say the least! :-)

Thanks for your prayers for us, and for this country as things are figured out over the next few days. And, please know that we are truly okay here. I just wanted you all to know and to pray.

our Christmas traditions

We start way back over Thanksgiving weekend, by setting up the tree and decorating that house. We decided a few years ago, when I was pregnant over Christmastime, that Cristiana will always get to put the angel up on the top. We start the Christmas music that flows throughout the house for the next many weeks.

On Christmas Eve, we have a fondue dinner with some friends. Michelle’s family growing up did that every year since somewhere in the late 70s (?!). Here, a few years ago we were casually talking with some friends who also have done fondue, and we now have ours together. We do cheese, oil, and chocolate. It is a fun night, which usually includes games like Dutch Blitz as well.

This year we put out a plate of cookies and milk for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolf. We set out the stockings after Cristiana was asleep -- which at this point is still not a difficult thing, getting her to bed on Christmas night.

Christmas morning came to the sounds of the usual pitter patter of her little feet. We opened gifts, but this year with a special twist . . . Keith, Jen [Rod’s sister] and their kids were here. Rod read the Christmas story from Luke and we talked about why Jesus came, then prayed and thanked Him for that coming. It was fun as Daddy was Santa, and Cristiana was the little elf. We all opened stockings and then went under the tree to see what was there.

As usual, our Christmases here are small -- but we LIKE it that way. Our church has sent us “Christmas in July” gifts for the last few years, so that was our big boxes under the tree. Then, we had a few other fun things like beef jerky for our dog Osa, who was allowed into the house to find her gift.

The kids in front of the tree . . . [Clay, Cristiana, Anna, Sierra]




Us in front of the tree . . . (yes, I was a little bloated that day!)




Cristana opening one of her gifts . . .

the way her mind works

It is amazing the way that Cristiana’s mind works. She knows that the baby’s name will be different when she is born, so she does not even call her “Sally”, she calls her “the baby”.

The other day she asked me to tell her the baby’s name. “Please, Mama, tell me her name.”

“No, Cristiana, you have to wait.”

And that scenario went over and over a few times, word for word. The last time I simply told her, “No, Cristiana, it is a surprise.” That seemed to get her to stop asking. Rod said later that she did the same thing with him. Do you think she wants to know?

once again . . . please pray

Once again, “Sally” and I are asking you to pray. I started with some hard pressure on my pelvic bone a little last night and lots this morning. I am now again on partial bed rest. I am allowed to get up and do things, but as soon as there is pressure, I need to lay down. And, I am only allowed to lift the equivalent of a cup of coffee. That’s not too bad, eh?!! :-)

I am 31 weeks as of Monday, so we really only have five more to go until we are clear. Thankfully I do not have any contractions along with it.

Please just pray that we make it for five more weeks and we will get to meet Sally at the appropriate time, and not early. The doc, the doula (for those of you who don’t know, that is a midwife and lamaze teacher), and I all agree that we think we will go to full term, as long as I am good about staying on rest. We discussed the possibility of travelling back to the States, but all feel that I will make it to at least 36, if not even 38 weeks. Please also pray that I am attune to the symptoms God is giving me in my body to tell me to rest.

Please also pray for Rod as he hurt his back this last week and is dealing with some severe pain. He is going to see a physical therapist Wednesday, and will hopefully learn more about how to manage the pain and how to avoid the same thing happening again.

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf! We know that it is because of you ALL that we are where we are, and we hope to NEVER take that for granted.

pregnancy emotions

Oh, the emotions that go along with this wonderful part of life. One minute I am crying in my soup about some comment that someone makes to this “words-of-encouragement love language” person. The next minute I am all giddy with excitement about our daughters having sisters. A ball of tears about some issue going on in our lives. And the next all happily emotional about some wonderful little thing that Cristiana does that is just completely cute or incredible in the eyes of her mother.

We laugh with Cristiana as she talks with “Sally” through my belly button. Rod says they will have a neat relationship, and how fun it will be to see it blossom. We also know that there will be sibling rivalry, as is only healthy. Cristiana is going to be a good big sister. She already helps taking care of Sally by talking with her, helping me pick something up when it is getting more difficult to do so with my growing girth, and “helping” me stand up.

30 weeks and counting

We are now thankfully 30 weeks along in the pregnancy and continuing to grow. Sally is staying safely inside! The doc said that all I need to do is get to 36 weeks and we’ll be safe. If she wants to come out after that, we’ll let her. Although, he and I both agree and think that she’ll go to the end of January when we’ll do a scheduled c-section. I still have lots of Braxton-Hicks contractions that are very hard, but when it happens I just lay down. It is working. Cristiana knows when Mama has to lay down, she asks if I am tight. :-)

“Sally” has moved down into a more comfortable position for both of us -- her head is down. Praise the Lord for that! Although, it now explains the fact that her feet are UP in my ribs. It is all fun, though, because every time that I am sitting and she does something like that and I say, “owww”, Cristiana will come over and talk to her little sister. She tells her to stop kicking Mama. It is really funny and cute all at the same time.

thanksgiving day

Thanksgiving . . . aaaaaaaaaaa, the day to go rolling home after dinner, the day of rich tradition, the day to share with “family”, the day of giving thanks. And we have a lot to be thankful for . . .

• For health and safety.

• For “Sally” and the pregnancy, that although there have been issues all is going well.

• For God’s continued watch care over us as we live in one of the top five most dangerous cities in the world.

• For Cristiana’s continued growth and development. For her intense love of art and drawing. For her incredible detail and fine motor skills that keeps her busy at her art table for hours on end -- literally!

• For Rod’s work and his safety. For the lives being saved -- both for longer life here on earth as well as for eternity in Heaven.

• For our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

And, yes, we do celebrate Thanksgiving here in Nairobi . . . just not on Thursday. This year we had a wonderful Saturday afternoon and evening with a PILE of friends, who we call family. We met at Matt and Carie Olson’s house and had all the traditional food from turkey to American sweet potatoes to cranberries to pumpkin pie . . . and of course some good ol’ American football. The games were a few weeks old, but it did not matter as we still got to watch the Cowboys play, and then the Redskins too. Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without those two teams playing.

The table . . .




Turkey carver, Matt (aka The Chief) himself . . .




We hope that you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and that you have a WONDERFUL Christmas season, enjoying the real reason for the season -- the birth of Jesus Christ.

we got one

Rod and I were talking about a name for “Sally” one day last week, and I said a name at the same time that Rod was thinking of the same name. So . . . we got one! How fun. We will continue to call her “Sally” for now.

Now, the suspense for all of you . . . you have to wait until she is born. There has to be something that is kept for that day. And, yes her name is going to be very familial and significant.

a sweet child’s prayer

Our nighttime routine that we have for Cristiana is one that gives her lots of security, I have found. It starts at 7.00pm with a bath (that usually last a half hour -- she is like her cousin Dalton who could spend HOURS in the water!), and ends at 8.00pm with a Bible story, a song, and a prayer.

Last night when we were praying, I prayed for the safety of us all: Daddy as he was away still, Mama and the baby as we slept, and for Cristiana and her dreams as she slept. (We pray every night for her to have good dreams, as she has very realistic ones like both Rod and I do.) Anyway, in the middle of the prayer, when I said “the baby”, she whispered over to me and said, “Sally”. It was so cute, we both giggled.

Today, then when I needed to go into the hospital to get my Anti-D (RhoGAM) shot, because my blood type is AB- and Rod’s is A+, she prayed that Jesus would not let it hurt badly. I love to hear her prayers, they are so heart felt and meaningful.

And, so wonderfully child-like.

a significant and familial name

I asked Cristiana yesterday afternoon if she wanted a brother or a sister. She said, very quickly actually, . . . “sister”. I told her that was exactly what she was getting! She grinned from ear to ear.

Later I told her that we were going to call her sister “Sally” for now, as that is what she wanted to name her anyway. But that when she was born, she would get her real name. She looked at me with a quizzical look, and said, “No, let’s name her after you. No, wait how about after Grandma?“

I said, “Barbara?”

She said, “Yes. No, wait, how about Gram?”

I said, “Ruth Ann?”

She just looked at me . . . not really knowing what to say.

Needless to say, she knows that her name is very significant and that she is named after Mama’s Granddaddy Christian Fisher Beiler, her great-granddaddy. And, of course, we do need to give “Sally” a very significant name as well. So, no, her name will not be “Barbara Ann” or “Ruth Barbara” or anything like that, but she will have a very familially (is that a word?!) significant name.

we will call her “Sally” for now

We are so excited to say that Cristiana will be a big sister to a sister. Today in the ultrasound that I had the tech showed me, very clearly actually, the parts that make up our little girl. Cristiana from the beginning has been saying she is a girl, I, however, have always thought he was a boy.

God definitely has a way of keeping us humble. I “knew” that Cristiana was a girl. I was probably getting upity with my attitude of calling this one a boy. God is good, though, and gracious in giving us another little girl to add to our family. We are soooooo excited!

A friend told me today that this will be neat for Rod and I as we were both “onlies” in our families. Rod is the only boy, and me the only girl. So, we’ll get to see what it is like to have another of the same in the family. How neat!

We will give “Sally” a new name when she is born, one that no one but Rod and I will know until she comes out to meet the rest of the world. She is already so loved!!!!

I really have so many thoughts going through my mind right now, and none of them are really flowing to make this post coherent. So, I will stop now.

Oh, my little girl is coming soon! (Instead the tears are flowing!)

baby update

Thank you for the prayers the last few days.

I went in to the doc today. Unlike the last visit, I only sat in the waiting room for about six minutes. (A week ago I sat for TWO hours waiting!) The doc said that Saturday's episode was most likely just Braxton-Hicks contractions, as if they were real ones he would have seen me in the hospital by yesterday. So, that is encouraging.

I am off of complete rest, but need to be careful. He basically said that anything from now on that is irritating and gives me those tight feelings, I just need to stop doing what it was that I was doing. Simple as that. And, if it does not go away after laying down, and goes on for longer than a half hour, then I am to start taking a muscle relaxant. He said that just sitting is not enough -- that I have to lay down until it goes away. He said that my body is telling me already that things are going to have to go much slower for the rest of this pregnancy. And, that I am simply to listen to my body.

He sent me for an ultrasound, as he said he usually does one at 28 weeks anyway, so off I went. All is well there, I got to see the spine, legs, head, etc. The baby is laying "transverse", which means that he is laying straight across my belly. That is another reason for uterine distress because the baby should be up and down. He has been that way for many weeks, but I thought he was actually going down further. We could not see the face, as he was faced towards my back. I really wanted to see a profile, but he would not let me see that one!

I am anxious for Rod to come home so we can talk more about what "else" I saw! :-) But, no words to any of you yet, until I tell him. Sorry for the continued suspense of whether we are having a Harry or a Sally! (No Sally is not a name we picked, it is what Cristiana keeps calling her!)

Please keep praying for Cristiana, she has had a hard time the last few days with everything. She and I just sat and cried today for a bit. She was scared from the weekend, and also feeling a bit out of sorts, I think. She will be fine, just needs a little extra loving from Daddy and Mama.

Have a great Thanksgiving (go Redskins!!). We are celebrating it on Saturday with a whole slew of families with lots of kids. It should be fun. This week we will also start decorating the house, with an extra hook for a stocking on the mantle! :-)

a bit of a scare

Well, I had an interesting day yesterday. I am writing to ask you to pray specifically for the baby. Friday night from 7.00-10.00pm I was very tight across my belly -- about the size of a dinner plate just on the front (not on the sides or below my belly). Every time that I would sit down it would lighten up, every time that I would stand up or move around it would get tight. (Mom S, when you called, the reason I was trying to get off the phone was because I was in the kitchen as getting very tight and needed to sit down.)

So, yesterday afternoon I called Jenn Carroll (she is with AIM, and a professional doula) to ask her what to do next time. She told me that I was in pre-term labor and that I needed to STOP. Stop everything, “call in the troops” to take care of C, to just STOP . . . EVERYTHING. Then, I told her that I also thought that I was getting sick with a little bit of diahrrea. She asked a few more questions about whether I thought I had a urinary tract infection or anything, I did not think so. She said that with her third baby when she was at 28 weeks (where I am on Monday) she was hospitalized for THREE weeks on bed rest and given the meds to stop the contractions. She did NOT want me going down that road.

Anyway, as soon as I told her about the diahrrea (which was really more just loose stool and gone this morning), she said that she was going to tell me something that I would not like to hear: I needed to get to the hospital, right away. Rod left for four days yesterday morning, and is too far away to be able to get back and have someone else finish the flight. So, I got Mendy (who lives here on the compound) to watch Cristiana, and Carie (one of my best friends) to came over to take me to the hospital. Poor Cristiana, she knew something was wrong and she cried really hard when I was leaving. She usually is the one to just say, “okay, see you later Mama”. But, she cried . . . hard. (Mendy said that she also came running after the truck all the way to the gate. I am glad that I did not see that! It was hard enough to leave her, much less if I had to see that!)

Got to the hospital, went into the labor ward, told them all about it, and the nurse just felt around on my belly and got the heart monitor to hear the heartbeat. The doc that I just started with two weeks ago said he did not think it was a problem, that it was probably just Braxton-Hicks contractions, and to go home and rest. So they released me and Carie drove me home.

I really feel okay. I wish that Rod were here. But am glad to be home with Cristiana. I know that she was concerned. When I got home she had been talking a MILE a minute with Mendy, and never stopped until just about ten minutes before getting in bed. Carie made some dinner and did the dishes while Mendy read with Cristiana some more.

So, here are the prayer requests.
• Obviously, the first is that the baby stays inside and is well.
• That the contractions don't start again.
• That Cristiana would be good and helpful with me for the next days.
• That Rod would be able to concentrate on what he is doing. He does not fly again until Tuesday to come home, but that he is well and not worrying while away.
• That I get rest and am able to let people take care of us (it is hard letting OTHERS do that, but easy with Rod!).
• That Cristiana would sleep well, that I would sleep well.
• That the Lord would give me peace -- which He has. :-)
• That . . . ! You get it.

Please do not worry, just pray. And, know that our “family” here is taking good care of us. And that the Lord has it ALL in His hands, in His perfect plan. That He knew this was going to happen, and knows what is coming next.

I plan to go into the doc tomorrow. Cristiana will go over to Carie's house for the morning (or whenever the appointment is) and she will play with her kids. She has house help on Mondays (I do not), and then Carie will take me in to the doc. Dr Patel is the same doc that she had, so she knows him.

boy’s birthday party

Don’t ya just love to watch kids at a birthday party? On the 13th, we had a huge bash here on the compound for Johnny and James DeHaan (the twins that live right across our driveway) and Isaac Cowley (who lives on the next compound). The twins turned four that day, and Isaac turns four in January. The Cowleys will not be here in country, so as far as Isaac knows, he has turned four already. Kind of cute, eh?! “Auntie Marcia” (Cowley) got a bouncey castle, they had a guy do tricks, there was face painting, a piñata, and of course cake, ice cream, and gifts. It was a day full of fun.

Cristiana wanted to be a tiger, so here she is in her face paint. She also had her hands painted. She only had it on for a few hours, as it started to irritate her skin and was ready to get it washed off.




Angelina, Cristiana, Teah, and Caleb, all with their faces painted . . .




The birthday boys: James, Isaac, and Johnny . . .




The whole gang of kids that live on the three AIM compounds, all gathered together for the fun . . . from smallest to biggest (except with the littlest one in the biggest ones arms) . . .

routines of life

When Rod leaves on a flight there are certain routines that are always followed. As a pilot, he always does a pre-flight check. As his wife, a pilot’s wife, I always send him away with our pre-flight words. I think it started after we got here to Nairobi, and when I was pregnant with Cristiana. I tell him, “Fly safe, and come back to us.” It is one of those habits, routines, whatever you want to call it, that make his leaving a part of our lives. I guess it is my way of making it clear in my mind that he is leaving and I want certain words to be among the last. In addition, of course, we tell each other that we love each other.

weekend trip

Rod went on a week-long trip last week, flying the Rafiki Foundation people all over Africa. He went to Malawi, Rwanda, and Uganda. Cristiana and I joined him then over the weekend in Entebbe (Uganda). Rod has flown this group around a few times over the last years. I will let him give you an update on what all they do, but here I am going to tell a little of our weekend.

On Monday, Rod called and said that he forgot his passport. As crew it is not required, but since he would be coming back into Nairobi as a passenger, he was going to need it. I had been thinking that day that it might be a good idea for Cristiana and I to just go over to Entebbe for the weekend, since it did not work out for us to meet him in South Africa the week before, as we wanted. So I checked the airline schedule and rates, and booked us tickets.

All week I kept telling Cristiana that we were going to go “find” Daddy, instead of him coming home. She was SOOOO excited about it all. That we were going on an airplane to find him.

Friday morning we rushed around getting the last packing done and off to the airport we went. It was really kind of weird knowing that we were going on an international flight, but just 50 minutes away -- as opposed to the normal seven or eight hours when we go on the first leg to the States. We had a normal, uneventful flight over, and then had a wonderful surprise for Cristiana. Since Rod was in uniform and has airport ramp privileges, he was at the airplane when we walked down the stairs. Entebbe airport is quite small, even though it is an international airport. The airplanes park close to the terminal everyone walks down steps and then into the airport, as opposed to walking through the jet way to the terminal.

Cristiana saw him and ran right up into his arms. It is always funny to watch the other passengers when we do that. :-) The perks of having a husband and Daddy as a pilot. We spent the weekend with another AIM AIR family, Dan and Cindy Stairs. It was a lot of fun.

On Saturday, Cristiana and I finally got to visit a Rafiki Village. These places are incredible. (Again, I will let Rod do all the explaining on how the history, etc.) We arrived just after the kids had finished a presentation for the large group. I wish we could have been there for that, but the traffic was worse in Kampala than we expected. We did get to look around the facilities, the homes, and get to meet the staff, as well as the group that Rod had flown that week. Cristiana got to play with some of the kids, although not really understanding why they were there. She played ball with a little girl, and got all dirty at the swing set.

The real reason for the trip was a weekend away from Nairobi, and a weekend with just our little family. It turned out to be much more than that. An incredible opportunity to see what the Rafiki Foundation people do and how they are making an impact on the children of the countries where they serve. There is a village here in Kenya, and we hope to go visit it in the neat future.

Here is a photo of Cristiana and the little girl playing ball, or dropping the ball is maybe a better way to put it. :-) They both enjoyed it.




Here I am visiting with a lady named Kim, originally from the States. (And, you get to see my belly that is growing!) Kim and her husband Kyle have been there in Uganda for just over a year now. He is the resident doctor, and she helps out with some with the younger classes a few hours a week. They have four children, 9, 7, 5, and 3.

hacked

Wow, have you ever had a message come up on your computer screen, as you were in the middle of going between internet sites, that told you that you were hacked? AAAAAAAAAAAAA, that happened to me this morning. It was the scariest thing. It was like someone was looking at me, but I could not see them. I felt very bare and exposed.

The first thing I did was to unplug my cable so as to immediately be disconnected from the internet. Then, with wide open and scared looking eyes (and mouth I am sure!), I ran downstairs and told Rod about it. He actually stepped back from me as I was telling him -- I guess I was kind of scary looking! We had a computer friend come over and look at the (yuck, vulgar!) message and he assured us that it was probably just on the our ISP site, and that the hacker did not get into our computer. (But, that we should also be checking our credit card account over the next few weeks just to make sure that if they did get into our server, that they are not using our cc account. That hackers usually do just that, get into a database like that and get all of the user information and use the credit cards for themselves, or sell them, or whatever.)

Thankfully, we are on a different server to be online, a different one than we use for email. And, Mike checked to see if our firewall protection was on. Unfortunately, it had been turned off, so he reset it.

Wow, what a feeling of being laid open without a way of “clothing” oneself. Yuck, I don’t like the feeling, even now as I type this, hours later.

Lord, I pray that Your guardian and warrior angels will continue to watch over and protect us . . . in all things, including our computer dealings! In Jesus’ Name, amen!

dakflyer

We created a separate blog for things related with our ministry here in East Africa. Yet another creative idea from friends Reid and Sandy Arensen, who were the ones who first got us interested in this whole “blogging” thing anyway. And, then gave me the idea to develop two separate sites. That way, if you just want to keep an eye on the ministry, it makes it real easy -- without a lot of posts, as we will post there less often.

“Dak” is the South African slang for the Douglas Dakota DC3.

Here is the address . . . http://dakflyer.blogspot.com/ (you can click on the link in “check out these sites” at the top right)

My own “Dak Flyer” :-)



(This is taken in the belly of the DC3, when Rod was in Chad helping out with the refugee situation in Darfur, Sudan. August 2004)

cristiana’s drawings

Cristiana likes the new VeggieTales movie called “Moe and the Big Exit”, based on Moses and the Exodus. This summer when we were in the States, she learned how to use the other buttons on the remote control for the DVD player. Now, she likes to go through all of the bonus features and find things to draw. She did that again this afternoon. We can also call this “home school,” right?!! :-)

Here is “Moe” riding on a regular horse . . . .




Here is a drawing of “Zippy”, the very large buffalo who is “Moe’s” usual mode of transport . . .



(all of the extra lines around this one are because she was following the artist’s instructions on how he drew Zippy, as he lightly drew and then added things on top.)

bunny rabbits

Part of Cristiana’s school is to play with and make animals or patterns with “Pattern Blocks”. She likes to make flowers, animals, and all sorts of fun things. This morning she made two bunny rabbits. “The big sister has on the yellow shirt, the little sister has on the orange shirt,” she said. Here she is with her creations . . .

a tiger on a Sunday morning

When we woke up this morning Cristiana was sitting at her school table . . . drawing all over herself. Rod told her that she was not to do that anymore, as we were going to church and he did not want that all over her. Later in the morning, as Rod and I were downstairs, she comes down . . . growling . . . like a tiger. She had sat in front of a mirror and made tiger marks all over her body. We reprimanded her for not obeying, but then had to laugh because she did such a GOOD job of it all. Here she is with her tiger marks . . .

she literally shivered

Sunday morning both Cristiana and I were tired. She had been clingy, whiny, and wanting to be in my lap most of the morning -- other than when she went to her Sunday School class that she loves. As soon as we got home, we ate, and went right to bed for naps.

Rod got home at 2.00pm from his weekend flight. When Cristiana woke up, she did not yet know that he was home. Someone came to the door and knocked. Cristiana heard it from her room and came out to see who it was -- she always likes to answer the door. She saw that Daddy was home, looked into the room at me (I was still laying in bed), and shivered with delight! I mean she SHIVERED!!! It was so cute. She whispered, “Daddy is home, I’m gonna hide.” She was beside herself with excitement.

She got straight under our bed, which is really tall, and waited for him to come and find her. He came upstairs and acted like he did not know where she was. I pointed down that she was under the bed. He came over and ducked under the bed to find her. She squealed!

Oh, the delights of our little girl!

he or she?

This morning we all went to see if we could find out if our little baby is a girl or a boy. We still do not know by seeing any pictures. We took Cristiana along, but did NOT tell her what we were going to do. The ultrasound doc is away for a few days, so we were unable to get a look. Our schedule will not allow us to go back for at least two weeks. So . . . we continue to wait. That is all okay, though. The baby is very active and that is what matters! :-)

I guess the baby is just playing a little hide and seek game with all of us. Three weeks ago when I was in for an ultrasound, the baby would not let me see anything. Last night Rod was able to feel the baby kick, but then when Cristiana came over and put her hand on my belly . . . she waited and waited and waited . . . and never felt anything. I think her baby brother or sister is just playing hide and seek with her. It happened again this morning. I just hope that the baby will kick soon so Cristiana can also feel him.

to obey or not

So, my last post was all about Cristiana and growing. Well, at the end the whole concept of how the Lord has made us really got me thinking . . . again. It is fascinating to me right now as this little one is growing in my belly. The more that the baby moves, the more I am thankful for those movements. And, for the Lord blessing us with this one.

Back to the thought. I have really been enjoying Todd Agnew’s “Better Questions” CD lately. There is one song that has some incredible lyrics (well, they all do, but this song really gets a mind thinking!).

Here are the words that really strike me when I listen to them, or even just think about them . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FUNNY

Its funny how a big ol’ fish can hear Your voice
Find one man in the whole ocean and swallow him whole
Because You said so

Its funny how a little plant can hear Your voice
And grow as big as a tent to give that man a home
Because You said so

And You speak to me all the time
And I can’t obey You to save my life

Well, I can but I don’t, and I want to but I won’t
And I don’t do what I want to
I do what I don’t mean to
And I’m confused
Its funny how a fish can obey You but I can’t

Its funny how the bright ol’ sun can hear Your voice
Along its way stop in the middle of the sky for an entire day
Because You said so

Its funny how a donkey can hear Your voice
And talk instead of bray to set Your child on His way
Because You said so

And You speak to me all the time
Lighting my path with Your words of life
But I can’t obey You no matter how hard I try

Its funny how a fish can obey You
How a plant can obey You
How the sun can obey You
How a donkey can obey You
Seems like everything can obey You, but I can’t

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


Why is it that the animals and plants obey Him, and so many times we do not?!

her mind is growing

Cristiana’s brain is making strides in these, her young years. She is now really understanding a few things that are interesting to us.

First, she knows that school is Monday through Friday (here at home), and that Saturday morning she gets to watch a movie. Just like us growing up, for me, watching cartoons on a Saturday morning. Then, and most important, she can not wait until Sunday, she knows that day is the day after Saturday when she gets to watch a movie. Important, because she gets to go to church.

She LOVES church! We go to a church called Emmanuel Baptist Church. It used to meet in a school right across the street, but now meets in a tent in the yard of a school a few blocks down the road. The children’s program has really blossomed and she enjoys it so much. There are enough other “wazungu” (white) kids there that they just leave her blond hair alone. (We were going to a church where all the little girls would come up to her and touch her hair -- as they were fascinated by it. Cristiana did not like that!)

Second, in her growing mind, she misses Daddy so much more now when he is gone. She knows that he will not be here in the mornings when she wakes up. She knows that he will not be here at night when we eat dinner, even though many evenings, we still “hold hands” with him as we pray. She asks how many days it will be until he comes home. She misses him in a really new way. One that is even hard for me to explain, just in a way that I know that her brain is understanding more. Growing.

It is all so fascinating! To know that the Lord, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, also created us in the way that He did. That He made us to comprehend things at certain times as we grow older. And, that He gave us the free will to choose Him or not.

WOW!

all about babies and horses

Almost every day Cristiana asks me, “When are you going to the hospital to get the baby, Mama?“ Or, “Is the baby going to get out of your belly today, Mama?” Or, “Will you be this big tomorrow, Mama? And then get the baby?” (showing me how big my belly will be when the baby is born). She is so excited, and that is exciting for us. If you ask her if she wants a brother or sister, she’ll tell you that she wants both.

We told her the other evening that she is going to need to help with the baby when he or she is born. She said, “Yeah, I will help keep the baby away from my books and keep little things out of its mouth.” She talks about how she will hold the baby and when he starts to cry she will give him to me.

Almost daily she also asks, “Are we going for horse back riding lessons today, Mama?”. She has had so much fun with riding. This last week we increased our time from a half hour to one full hour, and she really enjoyed it. Afterward I asked her if it was a long enough ride, she said, “No, can we go back for more?”

Her teacher told me the other day that she seems to have riding in her blood. I just said, “Well, yeah, she does!” without going into the whole story of Rod growing up on them and me always wanting to ride every chance I could get! She DOES have it in her blood -- and it doesn’t hurt that we have the access here to teach her too! :-) (We are VERY thankful for that.)

She is also very interested in learning all about the horses, their colorings, the ways their ears tell you their attitude, the names of body parts, etc.

Last week she rode bareback for the first time. Poor thing, her bum is so bony and NOT padded that she cried because it hurt. We got her back on her horse after I told her that she was Indian on Spirit, just like the movie. Then she enjoyed it when she was just walking with her horse -- she did not like the trotting while bare back. So, this week we made sure she had thicker jeans on! :-)

This week she decided that she really did NOT like the trotting so much. She wanted off. I got her down off of Nunki, her pony, and let her walk around with the pony for a bit. She so loves horses, but she really does NOT like trotting. She really has not figured out the rhythm to it all yet, but she will. I was able to get her back on Nunki, and they just rode out on the back roads for the second half hour. It was so worth it for her, as she did not give up.

Here are a few photos of her on Nunki from this week. Notice that Richard, the trainer, is not leading Nunki at all. They learned how to steer and stop with the reins. Now, granted, Nunki knows to follow Richard, but the kids are still learning the use of the reins. It is so much fun to watch them learn!







And, here she is after her walk. They were to look for flowers to adorn the pony’s mane.

my “hope” day

22 March 2007 -- that is the day I call my “hope” day. I finally had some sort of answer that we would be pursuing SOMETHING in order for us to have more children. I had struggled with depression that sent me into whirlwinds of exaggerated fear of living in this city (the crime here is very high), depression that affected everything that I did with my family, depression that affected friendships, and was living a month-to-month hell that continued every time I started my menstrual cycle. The times that I “knew” I was pregnant and got all excited, just to start a few days later. The time that we had a positive pregnancy test, and then a miscarriage. All of it put me into a downward spiral.

22 March 2007 -- that is the day that Rod and I decided that Cristiana and I would go back early to the States for me to get an operation to open my fallopian tube (the reason, we thought, for the 3.5 years of secondary infertility). It is also the day that we decided that the operation would be the last procedure that we would physically do to my body to have more children. (I had been on some meds that made me turn into a completely different person -- not good for our marriage, to say the least.) It is also the day that we decided, that if the operation was not successful, we would pursue adopting a little one from Colombia South America, where Rod was born and grew up.

22 March 2007 -- that is the day that turned my mourning into dancing, the day that my soul lifted. The day that I felt the Lord had heard my cry. The day that I thought the desires of my heart were actually going to come to fruition. The day that the Lord used to bring me back into actively being a part of our family and our community. Somehow, our family was going to grow. And, knowing the hard roads we were going to have to take (surgery and recovery, and if that did not work, then going the hard road of international adoption from one country far away from another country), it was all worth it to know that God was going to grow our family.

I know that all of that sounds very dramatic -- well, it is (and I have been accused of being a drama queen sometimes, but what is life without drama?!). Even a friend of mine said that it was the first time in years (!!) that she had heard “hope in my voice” in emails. (Thanks Menda for that encouragement, it was huge for me!)

That is why I call it my “hope” day.

We are so excited about this new little one that is growing in my belly. But, we are even more excited about the HOPE that the Lord gives us . . . in so many ways. Even when we do not know it, and can not see it through our tears -- we can trust that He is there. Even when we are at our lowest (Sandi, you saw me there!) -- we can know that He is there. Even when we do not know it in our hearts -- we can still believe it in our heads, which can be very hard. Even when it does not make sense, and we watch so many people around us get the desires of their hearts -- we can know that He is there. Even when it is the HARDEST to understand what in the world the Lord is doing -- we can know and trust that He is working. Somehow.

I promised the Lord that I would glorify Him in our story of secondary infertility, regardless of how it turned out. I can only imagine that this is a mere speck in the particles of our world, but my prayer is that He is glorified . . . over and over and over and over again! PRAISE HIS NAME!!!

the road from juba to yei

Juba is a city about 100 miles north of the boarder with Uganda, on the banks of the Nile River. It is the largest city in the South with a population of 165,000 people (2005). With the current time of peace, it is the seat of the government of South Sudan. It is the only city in the South with paved streets and occasional electricity and running water.

Yei is a city with a population of about 40,000 people (2005) about 70 miles southwest (as the crew flies), only about 30 miles north of the Uganda border.

The main access to Juba is by road. There are two roads that come in -- one from Yei and the other from Lokichoggio in northern Kenya.

These pictures are of the main road between Yei and Juba. This is the main access for road traffic into the Capital. The only other access is by air or the occasional barge coming down from Khartoum in the North.

Sudan gets one rainy season each year. It lasts from about June through September. This year it has been extra hard and long as some claim it is an El Niño year (which happens every five years and we are due one this year). Even here in Nairobi the rains have not really stopped. Here we experience two rainy seasons each year -- the first from March through May and the second from November through December. Well, it hasn’t really stopped raining since May, in fact we had a real “frog strangler” the other day with torrential rains, hail, thunder -- the works.

So, in a country like South Sudan, which has no paved roads outside its Capital, when you have torrential rains for four months straight, these pictures are what you get.

It is rumored that there are about 500 trucks stuck on that road trying to get through either direction.

Just when you begin to wonder why we do what we do, the Lord provides experiences to remind us. Usually it is in the form of an evacuation of missionaries or Christian workers from a battle zone, or it is the transport of medical patients, or it is the joy on the faces of members of a work team from a church in the US after they have spent ten days ministering to a small village in the middle of the vastness of Sudan. This time it was three simple pictures taken from a sister mission aviation organization . . . of a road.

pass the peace

Amani Ya Juu . . .

“to sew peace through the eye of a needle.”

Those who have visited us here in Nairobi have been to Amani. Others have heard about Amani. Others have received gifts from Amani, like oven mitts, purses, “mitumba” quilts, dolls, safari animals, necklaces, Christmas ornaments, beads, etc.

For those of you who plan to come in the future, here is a glimpse of what to expect when we go visit the shop: www.amaniafrica.org. (You can click on the link at the top right under our “check out these sites” if you don’t want to copy and paste the address.)

us . . .

Here are the three of us before I even knew that I was pregnant with the fourth of us, in June at Poppa and Gram’s house in South Carolina. (That would be Rod’s parents!) . . .




And, a very important part of our family but who had to stay back in Nairobi over the summer . . . our beautiful Rottweiler Osa (which means “female bear” in Spanish) . . .

only one benefit

Okay, maybe there are two.

When Rod leaves for an overnight trip, I never like it. The ONLY benefit that I can think of is that I do get things done in the evening. Things that tend to get put on the back burner until I get a chance to work on them. Things that really need an “empty” house, as in kid-in-bed kind of house. When he is gone, I go through my list of ever increasing little things that I want to do around the house -- go through my scrap book pile and purge stuff I have not used, hmmmmm, I guess that reminds me, too, that I should actually get some scrap booking done; go through a drawer that has needed some attention, but I have not felt like dealing with it; get papers off my desk that have sat there for weeks (that is a big one!). Those kinds of things.

The other benefit I can see, is that it gets Rod out of the office and into the air -- where he truly belongs. When he has an overnighter, he may actually get more downtime -- if that makes any sense. He gets a bit more rest, at least on the actual night out, since he is not flying back to Wilson. He is not so overloaded with such a full schedule of waking at 4.45am, and not getting back to the house until 8.30pm at night. And, then some times, just to wake up the next morning to do it all over again, or other days to go back into the office.

So, even though I really do not like him being gone, it is good for both of us. Cristiana has simply known, all of her life actually, that Daddy goes to fly his airplane and then he comes back. (And, every airplane in the sky is Daddy’s, regardless!) We have a routine every time before he leaves, where he sits with her and tells her that he is going and will not be back for a few days. She is so used to it, that it is simply not a big deal (unless he is gone for a long week, where she tends to act out in some ways, but that is the exception so far).

We do praise the Lord for His continued safety and protection over Rod, and the rest of the AIM AIR crew, as they fly throughout the routine but sometimes dangerous and unknown areas of Africa.

And, right now we would not trade our lives for anything. We are truly home . . . and thankful for that!

our very own “king lion”

For some reason, Cristiana named “The Lion King” as “king lion” instead. She has always had a thing with switching words or syllables, so I figure it is that. So, here is our own little “king lion” with hair that was intended to be a hula skirt . . .

making tortillas

This is one of Cristiana’s favorite times . . . when she gets to make tortillas with Mama Jimmy. This particular time she had just been playing dress up and decided that she was going to stay in her “princess” dress in the kitchen. As she is getting older, she continues to enjoy spending time in the kitchen. I bet one of these days soon she be able to make them all by herself! Move over Mama Jimmy . . . !

where we’ve been the last year and a half!

Well, we know that it has been a very long time since many of you have heard from us. Please forgive us for the lack of communication! So, here is a look at our last year and a half. (This will be a long one as we try to get you all up to date!)

AIM AIR has had some very busy schedules in the past year and a half, and many changes in personnel, too. February 2006 Rod was assigned the DC3 Training Captain position. In May of 2006 he was given the AIM AIR Chief Pilot position. In November 2006 he got his Caravan check out and is a Captain on that aircraft. So, with all that he does, those three plus the DC3 Program Supervisor and DC3 Captain (which he has always done), he has been very busy.

So, that was 2006, here is more about 2007 . . .

In March of this year, we started down a three week road of the uncertainty of our future here in Kenya. Rod suffered a blood clot in his eye that resulted in him losing part of his right eye vision. He grounded himself from flying for obvious safety reasons. After many tests with the doctors, and consultation with Dr Paul Yoder in Virginia (THANKS Dr Yoder!!!), we were confident that Rod’s care here was as good as it could get in the States. At the beginning, he was put in the hospital for a five-day steroid drip to reduce the swelling in his eye. The doctors initially thought that he might have the beginning stages of Multiple Sclerosis, but a CT scan proved that, thankfully, wrong. That was a difficult 36 hours.

Then, he went to see a cardiologist to get a full physical. He had a stress test, a monitor on his heart for 24 hours, and all sorts of blood work done. He has very thick blood, and an “anti-coagulable” state. After many tests, and then again repeated in the States over our home leave, Rod still has a very small dot in his right eye vision. The doctors say that it may go away some day, and that it may just be there forever. We are simply thankful that his eyes are working well, and compensating properly for the dot. He does not even notice it that much anymore.

In April, Cristiana and I travelled to Virginia three and a half weeks earlier than Rod for our scheduled home leave, and he joined us in the middle of May. Rod made it in time for the whole family to celebrate Gabriel’s first birthday! The day of Gabriel’s party (12 May) was also our sixth wedding anniversary. We spent the next two weeks in Virginia with my family.

Michael (Michelle’s younger brother), Melissa, and Gabriel Stoltzfus . . .




Grandma Katie S Beiler (Michelle’s Mom’s Mom) . . .




Dad and Mom (Karl and Barbara Stoltzfus) with their youngest grandchild Gabriel . . .




Karl (Michelle’s older brother), Laura, Logan, Dalton, and Karly . . .




Us with the celebrating family . . .




Then we spent two weeks in Fort Mill SC with Rod’s family. Where we had a Moyer family reunion over Memorial Day weekend. Rod's parents and the whole South America Mission team moved to the Fort Mill area less than a year ago when it became evident that the mission needed to move from Florida for tax purposes. We got to celebrate the oldest grandchild’s high school graduation, with a cake and ice cream -- it was a BIG surprise to Rachel. Congrats!

The graduate (the oldest grandchild, along with the youngest grandchild Anna) . . .




The whole Moyer clan . . . what a gang! [The Walkers on the left, Poppa and Gram in the middle on the bench, the Kings in the back middle with their the kids on the bench, and us on the right.]




The ones who started it all . . . Harry Robert Moyer III and Ruth Ann Rush Moyer, otherwise known as Poppa and Gram!




The Walker Family . . . [Rhonda (first born to Poppa and Gram) and John seated, with Rachel, Johnny, and Justin behind the bench.]




The King Family . . . [Keith, holding Anna, and Jen (second born to Poppa and Gram) seated, with Clay and Sierra behind the bench]




In June, then, with Rod’s parents, we took a trip to Port Alsworth, Alaska to visit our good friends, Leo and Menda Fowler and family. Rod went hunting overnight twice where he shot a black bear (see photos next post); he went fishing many times, once with Cristiana and I; we took the four-wheeler all around the area and into the woods; and we just simply had a good time with our friends. We stayed in a small two-room cabin with an outhouse. It did have running water so we had hot showers, just no toilet. It was a nice and cozy home away from home for three weeks. Leo says it is a $50 cabin with a $1 million view. We agree on the view at least! (And, the cabin is definitely worth more than $50!) We spent a few days driving around from Anchorage to Soldatna, where SP has a project, and Kenai and Homer, just doing the tourist things. That was fun to see more of Alaska. We had been to Alaska on our honeymoon, so some of it was not new.

The $50 cabin . . .



. . . with the $1 million dollar view! (taken by Leo just this week, because there was NO sunset when we were there, just dusk!)



Part of the reason why Cristiana and I went back to the States early was for me to have surgery to open a blocked fallopian tube. The tube is so badly damaged that the doc could not fix it or remove it (I think it is from a motorcycle accident that I had ten years ago). The doc did find a growth on my other ovary, he removed it, got a benign biopsy of it (PTL for no cancer!), and one month later I was pregnant!

We found out that I was pregnant while in Alaska, that was special. Our little one is a wiggler, have had a few ultrasounds so far, and all is well. “He” does not sit still for the ultrasound doc, and is already doing jumping jacks -- it is hilarious to watch! We do not know the sex of this one, and are contemplating the decision to find out. With Cristiana it was a VERY clear “no” to me. I never wanted to know. But, this one just seems like it would be more practical if we knew. So, we may find out in a few weeks.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us for another child over these last three and a half years. And, for those of you who did not know our struggle, it has been a VERY hard one, especially for me (Michelle). We praise God, though, for His timing in it all. Cristiana and the baby will be five years apart -- within one week. Since I will be having a scheduled c-section, the baby will mostly likely be born on the 31st of January or the 1st of February. Cristiana was born on the 6th of February. She is very excited about having a little brother or sister.

We have started pre-school for Cristiana, here at home. She and I do “school” for about two hours every morning through the week. She has so much enjoyed it. We read for at least an hour (which goes by very quickly), do fun projects, color, do puzzles, games, etc. Most mornings she can not wait, and is already in one of her pre-school workbooks figuring things out before I am even ready to start. She loves to color and draw, and loves to learn. It is really neat to see her remember concepts throughout the day and week of things that we have learned. And, to take a thought from a book and go in a completely different avenue than I had planned, is fun too. The other day we were reading about the Tower of Babel, and we talked about how God made all of the different languages. She asked me “how do you say store?” (Which, whenever she says “how do you say ___?”, it always means how do you say it in Spanish, as we have been learning that language.) So, we got out the Spanish picture book and read the whole thing.

Since I have been pregnant I have not gotten involved in much outside the home. I have been exhausted most of the time, needing a nap in the afternoon in order to be civil with my family by the evening time! It has been nice to have some extra time to spend with Cristiana and be ready for Rod to come home in the evenings.

Next time, Rod will share some stories from work . . . see you then! (But, keep coming back, cuz we’ll post every once in awhile on other things too.)

alaska pix

the kids before bed . . . yes, it is close to 9.00pm and it was still THAT light outside. the sun never really went down, just bounced back behind the mountains . . . [from left to right: Nezzie, Kaiden, Ned, Cristiana, Samuel (already asleep), and Isaac. Rylea and Elizabeth were still in the bath.]




a 30plus-inch pike that Rod got, out at the base of the Tana River with Leo, Bob [Rod’s Dad], and Ned [Leo and Menda’s first born] . . .




Lake Clark from the boat . . .






an eagle we saw in Homer, as we were doing the “tourist” thing . . .




and to save the BEST for last . . . Rod sighting in his gun for a hunt . . .




and then the kill . . .